This is fundraising workshop. All the money will be donated to The Red Cross to help the victims of the Japanese Earthquake.You will write either “I love you, Mum”(left) or “Love”(right)Time: Wednesday 30th March 16:30-17:3018:00-19:00Fee: Free (Donations will go to The Japan Red Cross) Place: Oxford Street London Thank you all very much for coming to the workshop and donating for Japan tsunami Appeal.

I hope you all had a good time and that you could learn a little bit more about one form of Japanese art. We raised £130 and 10 Euros

between the two workshops.

It might not be a big amount of money to solve the serious problems that are confronting Japan but I believe that even small events like this offer help and support to the Japanese people. Those Japanese survivors, especially, who are worrying about their loved ones or who are struggling to cope in their grief will be comforted by our message that they are not alone.

Thank you again for your interest in Japanese calligraphy and your generous thoughts for Japan.

Thank you very much for your donation!

￡1708.20!!

Date: Saturday 26th March 11am-3pmVenue: The people’s super market , 72-78 Lamb’s Conduit Street London WC1N 3LP–Music Performance11:30- 13:00 Contemporary Japanese music13:30-15:00 Hideaki Domon, a professional quitarist and a busker–Calligraphy Demonstration11:00-15:00 By Kashuu, a master of Japanese calligraphy–Martial arts12:00-12:50 Karate & Aikido by SOAS Dentokan Karate Club and SOAS Airenjuku Aikido13:10- 14:00 Karate & Aikido by SOAS Dentokan Karate Club and SOAS Airenjuku Aikido–Food menusSushi rolls, rice balls, Tonjiru soup(Pork and Miso soup), Nikujaga(Simmered potatoes and meat in soy sauce), Daigaku imo(Candied sweet potates) and more!/All the revenue on the day will be donated for eathquake and Tsunami survivors through the Japanese Red Cross and Koto-lb, a social enterprise based in Yokohama. Please come and Join the Japan Day and pray for Japan!

The Japanese Calligraphy Class for Kids is designed to learn from the basics of Japanese calligraphy as well as creating a piece of Japanese calligraphy art. Our Japanese calligraphy class creates the opportunity for children and teens to learn Japanese culture and language through learning calming art of Japanese calligraphy.

The class is for both Japanese and non Japanese speakers. Students will be taught the techniques from a Master of Japanese calligrapher with one-to-one guidances tailored to each student’s needs and progress. The students will also get grades like Karate, Judo etc. and enrol in competitions.

I was asked to perform for Mazda in Germany at their event and I met so many wonderful and talented people – other artists, technicians, employees at Mazda.

The show they created was fantastic and moving. It was very nice to know about all the different kind of professionals and their work.

Also I was very happy to see the shows of the taiko (Japanese drum) drummer, Mr Motofuji. The sounds from this perticular drum he makes simply came straight to my heart. It is very difficult to describe it – very energetic and exciting but also nostalgic. It was really lovely to talk about Japanese traditonal arts with different kind of artists as well.

Thank you all for coming along to the Manchester Cultural Festival. Some people exparienced writing their names in Japanese calligraphy and some wrote their favourite words. I was very impressed how beautifully they all wrote Japanese for the very first time!

I am often asked the question: It’ll take probably 1 min to write one word so why is Japanese calligraphy so expensive?” There are many reasons;

一 : A good Japanese calligraphy paper is not so cheep – it really depends but one type of paper I often use is about ￡100 for 50 sheets.

二: You’ll almost never be able to draw the final finished piece on your first attempt. I will usually draw at least 50 sheets easily to get “perfect” one. (The Japanese calligrapher puts spirit into one word and this needs a lot of concentration to express it, so I sometimes feel mad at the end of day…!) After I have practiced over and over again, I will choose a few of the best pieces and leave them over night, and the next day, with fresh sight and new energy, I finally decide which one to use. I hate it when I have to show people my first drawings and I really don’t like looking at them! People always say to me that they look good, but for me, it is as embarrassing as going out with no make up on!

三 : Calligraphy work is not simply about drawing on the paper. It isn’t completed without “Urauchi” and “Hyousou”. Calligraphy paper is very thin (unlike copy paper), so if you write something with watery calligraphy ink, it gets wavy when it dries. So you need to do Urauchi to make it stronger, adding a thicker paper. It is a very sensitive process which takes 2 to 3 days at least, so usually people ask a professional to do it. I then do Hyousou which is decorating the art with suitable traditional paper or normal wedged frames. This frame is very important to make the work outline. You must remember the frames are not main but the art.

1.Make paper wet, straigh- 2. Glue the Urauchi Paperten the paper and remove and gently leave it on thethe air from middle to calligraphy work. outside very carefully. 3. Put thicker glue on the 4.choose the rightedge of paper, and paste frame for the workit on the board.